Happy Birthday Talon

After an amazing meal at the Holiday Inn we headed to Canyon Lake Park to celebrate Talon's 2nd birthday.

Oh Raedon... I love this kid!

Randy and our friend Sheilagh chatting (above) and my brother-in-law Mike sitting with his dad, Andy.

Shower the bride

Sharon, Krista (Heather's maid of honor), and I hosted a bridal shower for Heather. I am so excited to welcome such a sweet, fun, and beautiful lady to our family!

Happy Birthday Randy

These past few years our entire family has been able to spend Andrew's dads birthday together. Michael, Heather, Kailey and Oakley met us all in Wall. Sharon's father-in-law Andy insisted on making us an amazing meal which included pulled BBQ sandwiches, pork-n-beans and scalloped potatoes.

My (at the time) soon to be sister-in-law Heather and nephew Oakley with Andrews brother Michael.

A Day at the Waterslides!

Taking advantage of the summer sun at the Rushmore Waterslides. Michael and Kailey joined the rest of us for the day.

Kailey, my new niece, and Elizabeth had a blast playing together!

Wall Drug!

Randy, Shirley, and Thomas were visiting from Montana so we made a quick stop at the infamous Wall Drug with the kids. The kids loved running around inside the tepee, riding in the wagon, and of course sitting on the many statue animals. My kids did NOT however appreciate the Jurassic Park dinosaur display. Every 15 minutes a very large and scary T-rex comes to life. The short show involves T-rex emerging from the fence with black lights, smoke, and loud roars..... My kids about lost it they were so scared, the poor things!!

We also wanted to check out the water display. My kids did not understand why I was encouraging them of all things to run around and get their cloths drenched! Laeton and Talon had fun though!

A visit to the Black Hills

While Andrew was studying for his Step II, the kids and I decided to give him some quiet time and visit family and friends in Rapid. Little did we know our scheduled 2 weeks away would turn in to a month!

Our time started with a weekend camping with my folks. I'd planned on staying in a tent but instead we reaped the rewards of having a mom who's life has been dedicated (:D) to campers. She was able to "borrow" a camper for us all to stay in. Andrew decided to drive out for the weekend, Mike and Sam were around for the summer, and my cousin Nels happened to be traveling through too. We had a great time together!

Since mom is known for her crazy girl scout fire-building abilities... I made sure the kids got a lesson. (These genes didn't seem to be passed on to me...) They had a blast and Elizabeth was so proud of her job!

July finally!

Andrew finished up his 3rd year of medical school and geared up for... study mode. Ugh. But, this meant more time together as a family. Here's Alex on his bike (this is a daily endeavor). Note the shoes... a few sizes too big? pink? Yes, this too is common.

The next picture is what the kids refer to as "TICKLE TIME." I'm sure you can guess but this is their favorite time of the day!

This is not one of my brighter moments... leave the kids alone downstairs with a box of cereal on the counter. Only 5 minutes and the damage was done:

Fourth of July at an arts festival in Sioux City with great friends...

To describe the Elk Point Fireworks Show as intense is a huge understatement! The show was in a baseball field (little league size) and we sat right behind the dug-out. The kids loved it!! I was worried because the kids didn't blink once AND we were literally being showered with ashes.  And by ashes I mean black soot. We all left speechless. Only in South Dakota...!!

The River! Sam (my soon to be sister-in law!!!) talks nonstop about going to the river in the summer and I finally made it out  with her. We took her parents boat to a sand bar for lunch and swimming. I'll be honest... I prefer the lake! Yikes, the current was strong. The kids had a blast with Uncle Mike and got a kick out of riding in a "boat you don't have to paddle"! Thanks to Sam and her family for sharing this with us.

Deepest Apologies

Just in case there's anyone who actually checks out our blog, I must apologize for my lack of blogging! The past couple months have been packed full of travels and new experiences. I am hoping to update the blog with all of our activities soon but until then I wanted to fill you in on our next year. Some of you have asked for our schedule so here goes!

Andrew took his Step II test August 13th in Sioux Falls and the CS test in Chicago August 18th. We won't hear results for a few more weeks so keep the prayers rolling!

Currently, Andrew is doing 4 weeks of Internal Medicine in Yankton and then another week of Pharmacy in Yankton.

September 28th Andrew starts a 4-week rotation at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Plans are still in the making for housing. We've debated finding housing to fit our entire family or just Andrew and I think we've decided Andrew will go alone and I will visit for a week.

October 26th Andrew will begin another 4 weeks in Lacrosse, Wisconsin for a surgery rotation. The hospital provides housing for him. The kids and I will visit for a couple 3-day weekends.

November 23 begins interview season. Andrew is hoping for a good 10-15 interviews and has left the month of December open to win the hearts of an amazing surgery residency!

December 21 Andrew is back in Yankton for 2 weeks of radiology.

The first two weeks of January are open for more interviews.

January 18 is a week of Anesthesia followed by two weeks of ER both in Yankton.

February 8 is a scheduled 4-week rotation in Sturgis. We are debating switching this to Vermillion depending on our exhaustion level and how Elizabeth is doing with preschool. If we do go to Sturgis, my parents have again graciously offered their house.

March 8 is Opthamology in Yankton. OH and don't forget only the most important day of our year... Match day! This is when we will find out whether Andrew was accepted for a surgery residency and where... The taste of vomit is already in my mouth from nerves over this day!

March is filled with four weeks between Yankton and Vermillion with random rotations of Anatomy, Urology, Neurology, and ENT.

April 12 begins a month in Kenya Africa for our whole family! We are in the application process with Africa Inland Missions.

May 7 = GRADUATION!!

Whew, I am exhausted already. This year will definitely be exciting! Thanks for all of your prayers and support!!

She's a swimmer!

Thanks to her good friend Conner, a good teacher, and only 2 feet of water, Elizabeth's swimming lesson were a success!

The Adventure Continues...

"...how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Ephesians 3:18

The theme this year for MOPS was an Adventure Park and Ephesians 3:18 was the verse. Taking on the roll as Coordinator was a huge task but God definitely showed me how wide, long, high, and deep is His love. Working with an amazing Steering Team (most new to ST like me), we had a great year. Our bi-monthly meetings consisted of 10-14 moms all looking for encouragement, laughter, and a place to relax and learn not only how to survive but to thrive in the adventure of parenting. Some of my favorite meetings were our Love & Logic speaker, Fitness day, Pastor Tieszen's talk on discussing sex with your kids, and of course SPA DAY! (We had professional massages, pedicures, full makeovers, and more!) Can't forget the crafts too: pumpkin painting, card-making, candle-making, and Easter egg fun.

MOPS' tag line is, "Better Moms Make a Better World." How true is this?

No one realizes how challenging mothering is until that moment when they haven't slept more than two consecutive hours in four months, are drowning in spit up, poop, and greasy hair, and have swaddled that cute "bundle of joy" tighter than a Mexican burrito for the 50th time in one hour yet still have a miniature person screaming at them loud enough to wake another state. Or the moment when their toddler, refusing sleep, screams for two hours after being scolded for pulling every cereal box off the shelf at the grocery store, only to poop and pee all over your shoes and on the couch and carpet as she is still potty training, for the 8th week, and counting.

All it takes though is that one moment when your screaming infant suddenly stops and stares inquisitively into your sleep deprived racoon eyes and, for the first time, smiles the most beautiful smile in the entire world. Or for that toddler to finally succumb to her insurmountable exhaustion, lay down, and before closing her eyes, suddenly look up at you to say, "Mommy, I love you." In that moment, everything else fades. No one truly realizes how rewarding mothering is until they experience this one moment.

Because Mothering Matters, I will go break up a screaming match over a piece of sidewalk chalk and simply enjoy being the mother of two amazing, unique, and beautiful children.

(Elizabeth, Alexander, Conner, and Ava - MOPS End of the Year Picnic)

April showers bring May... showers?

Interesting spring... cold and rainy! The kids and I are definitely thankful the heat of summer has arrived. I think we were all getting cabin fever to the max!

Any excuse for cake and we take it! Congratulations to Carrie (white shirt) for graduating with her Masters Degree (all while working full-time, raising a two-year old AND having a baby, oh and she moved across town to a new house!) and it was Miss Suzy's (blue tank) birthday. What would I do without you guys??

We had a luau to pass the time!

Still trying to convince the kids that art is fun....

...he still doesn't believe me.

Swimming Lessons, Round #1

Swimming lessons fill my childhood memories and I am so thankful my mom took the time to make sure we all had swimming lessons. I was so excited for Elizabeth's first set of swimming lessons. She had 2 weeks of lessons at the dome.

The first day, she was beyond excited and jumped right in the water. Unfortunately, this excitement quickly withered. One of the younger boys in her class screamed the entire first lesson which of course made Elizabeth leery. Top that with the teacher letting go a moment before Elizabeth had reached to edge and you have one preschooler who dislikes swimming lessons...

Swimming lessons now consisted of Elizabeth alternating between screaming or sobbing the entire half hour! I tried everything from long conversations about her fears, to bribes, to threats, to Dad watching, to nearly giving up. But, my philosophy is that if you start something, you finish and I am so glad we stuck with it. After week one being a disaster, my friend and I decided to take our kids during free swim to the pool to practice and allow Elizabeth to swim with kids she knows. It worked!

With Elizabeth, she has to be the one to decide if and when she will do something. With new experiences, I've learned the secret is patience to allow her to warm up and decide if she will enjoy whatever it is she's trying.

We start swimming lessons round #2 tomorrow at the outdoor pool... I'll let you know what Elizabeth decides!